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clown loaches never come out

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hey all

bout 2/3 weeks ago i re aranged my tank and put an under gravel filter in. i have 4 clown loach 2 that are around 3 inches long and 2 that are about 1.5 inch long. i got the 2 smaller ones because the bigger ones always seamed to be fighting so i got a couple extra and put a tree root in so there is now around 3 caves for them to hide in. only problem is, is that no i rarely see them. i used to see them when i got up in the morning swimming around up and down the glass and what not. now if i see them its only one at a time and as soon as i put the light on it goes hiding. i can see them all when there hiding just about so i no there not dead but they dont even come out to feed now.

i put pellits in, that they usually eat, also frozen blood worm and daphnia, and they wont come out for any now.

i tried live blood worm today but still no sign of them. its only over the last week that theyre not coming out

Clowns prefer lower lighting. If its too bright for them they will retreat to a shady area till its dim again. That said, My tank is fairly bright and the clowns I have in there are always out and about. Maybe a period of climatization is needed. Start with just a couple hours of light and increase the photoperiod gradually over a couple weeks

Is that tree root one of those fake ones you see in pet stores? If so, be very careful with that as loaches get tight into the thing and can not get out. I had to slam mine with a hammer to break it open so I could rescue my loaches. The more plants, rocks, pvc, etc, for them, the more you will see of them. They don't like coming out in the open under those lights so make them more comfortable and remove fake decorations that are death traps if you have them.

its all of them that are hiding. they definatly werent stuck in there as this morning i saw the two big ones out and about. i think they must of bin a bit hot because my heater decided to stay on and my tank got to early 30 degrees! ive also just removed the tree root just incase. im going to get some plants and maybe some rocks and make them another home.

as for the lighting, would it work if i got some floating plants? would that dim the light enough?